July 01, 2006

July...and soon i can start eating my garden!

I am aware that lately my blog has heavily leaned towards my garden, but that is just because now we are coming into the peak summer months, my garden is at its most productive months - Particularly the food i'm growing. A wander around my garden today proved this. I never fail to be impressed at the ability to grow fresh fruit and veg, i know exactly how it has been grown, its not been chemically sprayed, waxed, interefered with in any way, not to mention stored for months (i mean i can't get fresher than picked from my own garden!), and possibly the fact that i am just cheap. Why pay a fortune to supermarkets when i can grow it myself? The only downside is that my veggie growing ambitions are far in excess of the space i actually have!!

For example....

My very first raspberry ripened today. My raspberry cane is growing out of control, but my love of raspberries (and soft fruit generally) prevents me from cutting it back. This is an autumn variety too..so it shouldn't even be fruiting yet! But i am not going to complain!!

My Mange Tout are now perfect for picking. Not sure what these are called elsewhere...i think it might have been something like snow peas or something. I remember when my American/Austrian friend heard me call them 'Mange Tout' (French for 'eat all') their reply was "whhhhaaaat?!!

Anyway, this is my first crop, so i haven't tasted them yet...i'll let you know!!

And lettuce...no longer do i have lettuce sitting in my fridge going brown. Nope, i have some dwarf varieties growing in my back door...salad with my dinner? No problem...i just go and pick it as i need it! My first reaction to the taste was that it tasted like grass...actually, it doesn't really..but i now realise that the taste was in fact what real, fresh lettuce should tast ike!!

Ok, so this is not food, but the sweet peas i have growing up my back wall are really starting to look pretty now. Their scent is out of this world, and i just can't get near to them without having another 'sniff'! I had forgotten just how wonderful they smell!!